A walk down memory lane
by thewizardanthedragon
Summary: Tony remembers the night CJ was born.


**A/N - This little oneshot story is a collaborative effort of myself and gaben. Thank you to gaben for the editing, movie references and wonderful additions to the ideas and story itself.**

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Saturday came and with it came a bright beautiful day. CJ and Steven went cycling through the trails for the entire afternoon and were a tad late returning home. Steven would normally have stopped at his place and showered before coming over for supper but suggested the he would ride all the way with CJ. She understood when she opened the front door and found balloons and streamers strung all over and the members of 'the gang' shouting "SURPRISE" as she entered. "Thanks guys" was all she said as they all entered the living room and started talking. Taking turns to shower CJ and Steven exited momentarily from the gathering.

Pizza was ordered and a long line of movies was arranged including 'Sixteen Candles' with Molly Ringwald , "Sixteen" a 1970's drama and "Sweet Sixteen" a 1980's murder mystery. The gang was so intent on their activities that they didn't notice Tony leaning against the doorway watching them. He watched his daughter laughing and fooling around with her friends. Standing there he thought back to 16 years previously to the night CJ arrived on the scene. What a night that was! She had been a child that did things her way from day one, never mind that, moment one.

_Flashback_

"_Tony I am going home early to lie down" Ziva explained as she packed up her work backpack and headed for the elevator._

"_You alright?" he asked worriedly even pregnant it wasn't like his wife to leave early._

"_Yes, I am fine. I just feel funny and I think that if I lay down I will feel much better and we do not have a case right now" she explained holding the elevator door open. Tony joined her and made sure she got to the car alright. He was hesitant to let her drive home if she wasn't feeling great but many years of working with her and 2 years of marriage told him that she wasn't going to driven home by anyone but herself. _

_Ziva had driven home and gone to bed immediately. Falling asleep instantly she rested for a couple of hours but woke feeling no different than when she'd laid down. __She took to pacing the floor in the bedroom and then moved to do the pacing in the living room. The walking seemed to alleviate the strange feeling and so it was in this state that Tony arrived home to find his wife. "Are you still feeling funny?" he asked as he approached her._

"_No, I feel fine as long as I am moving." _

"_Maybe we should go to the doctor's, maybe something is wrong?"_

"_Nothing is wrong Tony, I can feel the baby moving and kicking and what am I going to tell them, I 'feel' funny. Of course I 'feel' funny I am 8 months pregnant and have a large parachute growing inside of me."_

"_I think you mean parasite" Tony carefully corrected, she wasn't keen on being corrected at the best of times but while pregnant she'd been a bit more touchy about it. "Do you think you're in labour?" Tony asked more for something to say than really thinking it was likely. _

"_No I am NOT in labour, I think I will know when I am labour!" her voice getting more shrill with each word. _

"_Ok. I just thought I would ask" he said leaving the room. Did her head just spin? Images of Linda Blair from the exorcist came to mind. A few minutes later he returned with a steaming cup of tea as a peace offering. "Here Reagan…AH… Here sweetheart, how about a nice chamomile tea?"_

"_Thank you" she said somewhat contrite. _

_It had taken a long time for him to even be comfortable putting his hand on Ziva's belly to feel the baby move. It amazed the hell out of him when he first felt the waves of motion under her skin. It became one of the most unforgettable moments he and Ziva had shared, no talking just touching, raised eyebrows, smiles and chuckles as their child communicated through the jabs and kicks. He wondered what it may be like for the life form on the inside; Like Mickey's sense of wonder, in Look Who's Talking, or Village of the Dammed where the foetus of young mothers took over their host bodies and will. He hoped Mickey, cute kid. He wasn't sure how he was going to deal with the actual birth itself. Images of every horror flick running through his head whenever he thought about it. John Hurt lying writhing on a table as a bloody creature bursts out of his belly, covered in blood, then skittered across the room, teeth bared and growling at those in its path. Okay so, the scene from Alien was a bit of an extreme reference but that scene, even though it seemed totally stupid now, scared the crap out of him as a kid. _

_In the past father's weren't even aloud in the delivery rooms, now it was unusual not to have the father and in some cases other members of the family in attendance. At least he had another month to psych himself up for the experience and really all he has to do is hold her hand and tell her everything is going to be alright. He was special agent of an armed federal agency he could hold his wife's hand, no problem he thought. _

_And as he sat watching his wife pace the floor between the living room and kitchen convincing himself that he had all the time he needed to get ready if something happened. Ziva stopped pacing and bent over almost double at the same time letting out a strained "aaaarrrggg". Tony was instantly on his feet and at his wife's side. "You sure you're alright" he asked again. He had witnessed her fight a drugged up marine and come out the other side battered and bruised, he had seen her just sit there accepting after months of tortured confinement so he couldn't understand why she didn't think anything was wrong. _

"_I am fine. Really" pushing past him she awkwardly made her way up the stairs aiming for the bathroom. While climbing she was trying to figure out why it was so difficult to make it up the stairs when she doubled over again just as she reached the top. Tony rushed to her side and gently half guided half carried her the rest of the way into the washroom. She tried to lower herself so that she could rest on the edge of the tub but as soon as she made contact she jumped back up._

"_Tony, I think the baby is coming now" she said in a matter of fact tone. Tony began shaking his head no but the conversation continued in silence as they exchanged looks, nods and gestures. "No... no... no... I will get the car and we will get you to the hospital right away." It was Ziva's turn to shake her head in the negative. "Too late for the car?" he asked already knowing the answer. _

_Supporting her down the hall and into their room he flipped open his phone as he propped her up against the headboard._

"_911 please state the nature of your emergency" _

"_My wife is about to have the baby right NOW" emphasis building as he said each word. _

"_Is your wife conscience? Is she doing alright?" _

_Tony turned to watch his wife as she scrunched up her face and folded herself in half again. _

"_Well she's conscience" he stated matter of factly._

"_Sir, stay with me I am sending the emergency crews to you right away. Sir you need to check and see if you can see the baby's head yet."_

_Taking the phone away from his ear and looking at it as though it were a crazed person asking him to jump off a cliff he yelled complete with southern slave accent "… but masta Butler I know nothin' about birthin' no babies, suhr " as did the character in Gone with the Wind. _

_The operator on the other end, who had heard that line so many times , delivered by predominately young husbands trying to contain their rising panic, spoke slowly to Tony as he returned the phone to his ear as he helped his wife disrobe. Ziva took Tony's hand in her own and squeezed. It was in the moment that Tony realized it was he who was supposed to be supporting his wife, not the other way around. Instantly his years of training of how to deal with stressful situations kicked in and he took the little control he had available to him in hand. Setting the phone on speaker function he set it on the night stand and following the medical practitioner's instructions he assisted his wife in delivering their daughter. As he caught the tiny infant in his hands he quickly set her on Ziva's chest and wrapped her in a towel he had hurriedly grabbed from the ensuite. There was slime, blood and ooze and he didn't see any of it. All he could see was the small dark haired beautiful baby curled up in her equally beautiful mother's arms. _

_Tony couldn't believe how small yet how very perfect she was. She was a little scrunched up in the face, but her eyes were huge and looked at him, well so it seemed. One little finger escaped and waved itself in the air. Tony couldn't help but meet it in awe. One big finger tip touching one so small. It reminded him of, E.T touching Gurtie's or Elliot's hand in the last scene. Home it said. _

_Huh, Spielberg borrowed it from Michelangelo anyway, "The Creation Of Adam." God creating mans soul. Hmmf! Not everything relates to movies. _

"_Hey there little peanut, Your Home." He crooned._

_The fire fighters having let themselves in knowing what was going on inside entered to find baby being held by mommy and mommy being held by daddy. _

"Dad... Dad... DAD! What are you doing there?" CJ called over to her father who was still leaning in the doorway. Smiling at his now 16 year old daughter Tony turned and went in search of the other love of his life.


End file.
